Conflicting Workplace Values
Now, more than ever, values and purpose are central to a conscious company’s work
You’ve undoubtedly seen headlines over the last several years about employee walkouts, protests, or internal strife turned external crisis at major global companies. Major brands have seen employees publicly expose internal strife by going to media or protesting outside offices when they saw what they perceived as injustices occurring at the company.
Most recently, Spotify clashed with staff unhappy about podcast content their platform hosts. Netflix also faced an internal morale crisis and external media crisis when staff expressed concern and anger about content on their service. This is an increasing issue for companies. And it’s one that will grow due to a shift in what employees expect from their employers: they expect their organization to engage in a purpose greater than just increased profits.
Related to this growing need for purpose is one of the billion-dollar challenges companies face: how to increase employee engagement. It’s a buzzword in the business world that translates into “how do we get more productivity out of our employees and retain their talent?”
So how do you consciously increase employee engagement and commitment? John Mackey succinctly explains it in his book Conscious Leadership: “The first and foremost job of every conscious leader…is to connect people to purpose.”
Conscious leadership teaches us that a critical component to building a conscious team and company is tying work to a larger purpose. And that means identifying the core values that undergird your organization’s purpose and mission. These values must be shared with prospective employees, be constantly discussed with current team members, and should guide every decision.
If you don’t have a clear understanding of your company’s core values, or they aren’t shared with staff regularly, then your organization may very well face an internal or external crisis like Spotify and Netflix.
One of the first exercises I take new coaching clients through is determining their values. Too often we feel confused or lack direction because we haven’t clearly articulated our values in a way that could help us get clarity and make confident decisions. Once we connect with the values that have been vaguely floating around in our subconscious, we can determine if the work we do is aligned with those values. A values misalignment means you may be in the wrong company.
In the midst of the latest Spotify controversy, podcaster Brené Brown described her concerns as a “tremendous values conflict.” It’s led her to question whether her values align with the company with which she has been working. That values alignment is more important to her than the income she’d earn. That’s how deeply values drive our need for purpose, which leads to increased engagement and satisfaction.
John Mackey describes the essential need for purpose this way: “Profit is an important thing, but it’s not the most important thing. Organizations work every day to make money, but they exist to deliver on their purpose.”
As a conscious leader, take the time to delineate your core values and the values of your company. Then tie those values to the overarching purpose of your organization. And finally, make sure you’re conveying those values and that purpose in everything you do. Help your team connect to those values and that purpose. It will set you apart in your industry, draw talent, and keep that talent engaged to accomplish extraordinary things.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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